Sujith Nayar didn't realize just how unique he was until his world came to a standstill on Nov. 1, 2015.
The 35-year-old from Brisbane, Queensland, in Australia was rushed to the emergency room with chest pains only to find out his heart was perfectly fine.
It was his blood that wasn't.
Images via the Hope4Sujith campaign, used with permission.
Many tests later, he was given an unwelcome diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia Philadelphia positive.
It's not easy to say that five times fast. And as it turns out, it's not easy to treat it, either. The disease is an uncommon strain of an already rare type of leukemia. It's so rare, it barely shows up in an internet search. (And that's when you know something is rare. The internet knows everything.)
Sujith began chemotherapy almost immediately after his diagnosis while trying to fully understand the disease and what was going on in his body. So far, he's gone through six successful rounds of chemo to slow the disease down. He reached remission, but there's a big reality he has to face.
"My treatment can only be complete once I receive a bone marrow transplant," Sujith wrote on his website, Hope4Sujith. "I need to find a bone marrow donor so that I can survive this disease and live a fuller and longer life."
Many people don't know how easy it is to become a donor – and potentially save someone's life.
Including Sujith's own family.
"So many people had never even heard of the marrow registry and had no idea what was involved in the transplant process," Sujith's sister, Lakshmi, told Upworthy. "Eight months ago, I hadn't either."
30% of patients who find themselves needing a transplant will have a matching donor within their families according to the Institute for Justice. But when no one in Sujith's family matched, he was forced to join the 70% of people who must hope a stranger will come to their rescue.
Sujith's family is working to make that happen through the websites we all use every day.
Sujith with his wife, Alloka.
His family launched an online campaign, Hope4Sujith, to help him find his match. It's quickly spreading around the world.
With family in Australia, the United States, and India, the Hope4Sujith campaign is raising awareness and educating people on the donation process through their Facebook page and website.
It's making a significant impact. They're breaking stigma, opening eyes, and growing a global community. Thanks, internet!
They're breaking the misconception that bone marrow donation is a scary and very difficult thing to do. It's not.
"The transplant process is a lot simpler than most people imagine," Lakshmi said. "People get scared when they hear the words 'bone marrow.' In fact, most registries have moved away from calling it that and call it marrow or stem cell donation."
Whatever you want to call it, the donation process isn't as intimidating as it's often made out to be. You can learn more about the full process here or take it from a past donor herself (who was nervous at first!).
Hope4Sujith has been holding donation clinics in three different countries and showing just how easy it is to join the donor registry either online or offline. And they're not kidding! It took me less than 10 minutes online, and now I feel like a better, more compassionate human.
Look, Ma! I did it!
You can register yourself online by going to this site. Or you can find a registering event near you, if real-life interactions are your thing.
Hope4Sujith's campaign is also helping to connect with the families of other patients who are searching for a donor match for a loved one.
"I am always conscious of the fact that it may not be our own effort, or one of our drives, that finds a match for my brother. It could be a drive conducted by the family of another patient in some other part of the world that finds the match for Sujith. But maybe our efforts or one of our drives will find a match for someone else too.
It is like we are paying it forward, or backward, or all around. When someone signs up to a registry anywhere in the world, they are agreeing to donate to anyone they may be a match for, whether they know them or not."
A donor registry event held in Texas. Image via Facebook, used with permission.
Part of their push for donors comes because of the difficulty many minorities face in finding a match.
Because tissue type is most likely to match someone of the same race and ethnicity, it is much harder for South Asians, Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans to find a match because they are so underrepresented. Sujith's team has been extra strategic about reaching out to the South Asian community to help fill the gap.
"I truly believe we are all in this together," Lakshmi says. "This campaign has taught me, through the reach of the internet and Facebook, just how connected we all are. And how easily we can help each other."
She says that if her team can inspire people to take the simple action of joining the registry, they will have made a difference to someone's life and to those who love them.
Let's give them, and the 20,000 other people who await a transplant every year, the support and encouragement they need. If you're able, share this and sign up to be a donor. You never know who could be waiting for a match like you.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."